


Not So Normal Friends After All

by Darkyu



Series: Whoever Thought That Tony Stark Is Friendless [1]
Category: Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers (2012), The Avengers - All Fandoms
Genre: 'If you hurt him I'll kill you' speech, Established Relationship, M/M, Overprotective!Friends, Protective Rhodey, Shovel Talk, Steve has it tough, frienship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-04
Updated: 2015-01-29
Packaged: 2017-11-09 03:51:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/450936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkyu/pseuds/Darkyu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When people told Steve that dating Tony Stark was going to be a challenge, he couldn't have imagined that it wouldn't be because of Tony's infamous relationship-related reputation at all. It was the unexpected over-protectiveness of Tony’s loved ones that made the whole achievement seem impossible.</p><p>Steve only hoped that he would be able to get through this without resorting to violence.</p><p>Or: The one where Steve gets Shovel Talked by Tony's friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this mostly because I think it's unfair that almost always Tony is the one being threatened at the beginning of their relationship. But I wanted Rhodey, Pepper, Happy and Jarvis to have a big part on the fist Stony story I published because they are a great influence in Tony's life and it's necessary that someone willing to have a relationship with Tony Stark has to pass through their tests and harassment. This is the first part of a series about them getting their noses in Steve and Tony's business.
> 
> Now, I know I said it before, but now I mean it! THIS IS THE IMPROVED VERSION! It really is because I got help from an amazing beta, so it's all thanks to her: DreadPirateWombat !! 
> 
> She really did a great job helping ol' me with my English, so really, I thank her for the help and for the amazing English lessons! 
> 
> Enjoy!

It didn't come as a surprise to Steve Rogers when he first realized that Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes had some kind of problem with him. It wasn’t a secret either, or at least the Colonel didn’t waste much effort in trying to hide it any time he was anywhere near Steve.

Steve suspected that Rhodes’ dislike of him was based only on superficial reasons considering he actually didn’t know the guy very well and Steve didn’t think he deliberately did something to piss him of, therefore he did not find it necessary to spend much time thinking about it and also hadn’t deemed it necessary to take the time for self-reflection regarding the situation. Besides, the super soldier had spoken to the man for no more than a few minutes a handful of times and even during those extremely rare events, they'd only talked of Avenger’s business and nothing else.

To the Captain, it was clear that Rhodes was a military man, and therefore likely appreciated practicality and a straight-to-the-point attitude in his his interactions with others. It was an attitude Steve understood and was familiar with, from his time during the War, and so he should have felt at ease around the Colonel. However, Steve was distinctly uncomfortable around Rhodes, though. The discomfort that he felt around the man was obviously due to the Colonel making a conscious effort to make the supersoldier feel about two centimeters tall. Every time Steve opened his mouth in an attempt at small talk, to get to know his boyfriend's best friend better, the man in question merely gave him an undecipherable look, and Steve's words would fail him.

Now, Steve was a soldier himself, so he knew how hostile some of his fellow soldiers could get over a simple misunderstanding, except Steve could not think of a moment with the Lieutenant Colonel when such a thing could have happened. He wracked his brain and yet the results always ended with not a single clue popping up in his mind because, once again, he had only ever talked to the man about the Avengers… and maybe about Tony.

Tony was probably the only reason this whole situation was bothering him, considering that he normally wouldn’t give a darn about how someone he barely knew felt about him. Except this was Tony’s best friend; one of the very few people that had stood by Tony’s side through every hardship he’d encountered.

Before the Avengers, of course.

And it was only after that realization that the answer came to Steve like a slap in the face.

Steve knew it was just a matter of time before he found out the reason behind the Colonel's latent resentment; after all, it was bound to happen at some point. What surprised and embarrassed him was that it took him so long to figure it out.

And in this situation...

“Rhodey, say something!” Tony demanded excitedly, but Steve could hear the nervousness in his voice.

“So, you guys are dating now.” Rhodes deadpanned. It was moments like this, with the weight of a dark, murderous look directed his way, that Steve wondered if Tony suspected his best friend’s dislike for Steve.

Maybe Tony was a little oblivious sometimes, but really, the Colonel wasn't even pretending to like him, and Tony was a genius, after all.

Still, there was the possibility that he didn't have a clue, especially considering what it took Steve to make the genius believe that he was in their relationship for the long run, and that Tony actually deserved to be happy with someone he loved.

“Yes.” Steve stated while he resisted averting his eyes from Rhodes’ who was still staring, or scowling, at him without blinking. Steve thought it was important to maintain eye contact, especially after finally realizing that the Colonel’s problem with him was probably because he didn’t like sharing Tony. The stare only got worse when Tony put his arms around Steve’s waist as if he wouldn’t let go no matter what.

Tony’s embrace made Steve relax his serious stare a little, and he was unable to stop the warm smile that followed his lover's actions.

“Isn’t that great, man?” Tony prompted squeezing Steve a little. “I think I can finally go steady. Well, if that’s what Cap wants, of course.”

Steve did everything in his power to ignore the very evident frown that was now on Rhodes’ face. Instead he kept his eyes on Tony’s earnest expression and answered truthfully, “I couldn’t want anything more.”

“Okay, okay, I got it. Please stop being so damn cheesy in front of me, man. You’re freaking me out.” The sudden change of expression and tone was pretty evident when Rhodes' eyes were redirected to Tony, who let Steve go with a grin on his face directed towards his friend. “I think it’s great, Tony, really.” Steve’s enhanced hearing didn’t miss the acid undertones of the Colonel’s words.

Tony and the Colonel were now dude-hugging. It would be a beautiful thing, especially considering how it almost never happened, if it wasn’t for the fact that Rhodes wasn’t paying Tony much attention. The military man’s arms tightened around  _Steve’s_  boyfriend in what could only be called a possessive grip, and the colonel seemed to be concentrating more on glaring at the super soldier in full hatred mode than embracing his friend.

What made Steve finally glare right back was the way that Rhodes refused to let Tony go when his lover declared that it was too much hugging for a lifetime and that he needed to breathe.

“Now who’s the cheesy one?” Tony teased, but then he relaxed again in his best friend’s arms. “Really, Rhodey, this is good for me. Steve is good for me.”

As Rhodes finally relaxed the crushing hug in order to look at Tony at arm length, the deathly glare turned into a soft stare (Steve could bet it was a rare sight on Rhodes). If Steve hadn’t understood right at that moment that Rhodes cared and felt responsible for Tony, then what he said next made it perfectly clear.

“I just want you to be happy, Tony. I hope you get that through your thick skull.” Rhodes declared slowly while slapping Tony lightly on said skull. The way he said it implied that he didn’t want any confusion about his words from anyone present. “And I would support you no matter what, man. That’s what I’m here for, you know? To punch you in the face when your stupidity reaches high levels; which is all the time.”

“It certainly does not. I don't know if you somehow missed it, but I am a genius, which means no stupidity.” Tony affirmed in a soft voice. Even if his words expressed something entirely different, that was a tone Steve knew from experience was reserved for only a handful of people. Thank God that Steve was included in that exclusive group, because if he wasn’t, he’d probably feel a little left out and even  _more_  of a third wheel than he felt right now. Probably even jealous. Which he wasn’t. Really. “I’m here for you as well, Rhodey; my need to annoy you sustains my sanity, even if I suck at showing it,” Tony murmured,

“You’re better than you think, though. But I’m not defending you to yourself; I have to do enough of that for you in front of other people,” the Colonel replied playfully. “You certainly are unpopular around the wrong crowd.”

“Probably just ass-clowns." Tony dismissed with a smirk on his lips and a shake of his hand, "You don’t need to worry about them; most people love me. I’m really loveable, ask Steve.”

“Tony, it will be a really damn freaky day when I don’t spend at least five minutes of my short free time - thank you for that, by the way- worrying about what idiocy you decided to do that day.” Rhodes said, deciding to ignore Tony’s last words. Steve didn’t want to jump to any conclusions, but he couldn’t help but feel that the Colonel's response was probably a way of telling Steve to ‘back the hell off’ from the conversation. And by  _conversation_  he meant Tony. “Besides,  _civilians_  love you, that’s good for a fan club, Tones, but useless for things that  _do_  matter.” 

“Hey, my fan club is awesome! At a safe distance, of course. They pulled me out of prison once.” At Steve’s incredulous  _‘What?!’_   Tony continued in a rush. “ _Besides_ , you said that you worry, but you _never_ call me.” He stated with fake-resentment, eyes dancing.

“I don’t need to, I value my sanity and I have Pepper to reassure me that you have indeed done something stupid every day without submitting myself to your bullshit.”

“I’m hurt!” Tony exclaimed while making an exaggerated grab at his arc reactor. Steve couldn’t help but chuckle at his lover’s antics. “That’s just mean, using Pepper for your stalker ways.”

“Whatever keeps my mind at ease.” Rhodes finished ruffling Tony’s hair just to spite him. “How about that coffee you offered just before you dropped that bomb-of-news on my face?”

“Yeah, excuse my babbling. It was because, surprisingly enough, I give a damn about your opinion.” Tony muttered while trying to tame his hair once again. “I’ll go get the damn coffee,” he announced louder, heading for the kitchen.

When Steve made a move to go after him, praying that Rhodes had forgotten he was in the room, a firm hand on his shoulder that was probably meant to hurt him a little – if not for the super soldier serum it probably would have– stopped him right on his tracks. No sudden invisibility today, it seemed.

“Captain Rogers, a word?” War Machine asked, when Steve turned to face him with a raised eyebrow. The tone that was reserved for him was back; dark, threatening, full of the promise of a painful death.

Not that Captain America was going to cower before it. “Sure, what’s up?”

“You are up,” Rhodes stated. And was that anger that Steve was sensing? “Look Rogers, I don’t think I have a lot of time so I’ll cut through the crap. I don’t know what your intentions are, but let’s get this clear–”

“My  _intentions_?” Steve asked insulted. The Colonel could dislike him all he wanted, but Steve wasn’t about to let him jump to conclusions, which sounded more like accusations, just because he possibly thought that Steve was stealing Tony away. “Who are you to question my intentions?”

“I’m Tony’s best friend. I’ve been with him through it all, Captain; his loneliness, his drinking problems, his parents passing away, the fucking rapist–”

“Rapist?!”

Rhodes continued as if he hadn't said a word, “Obadiah Stane, Justin Hammer, Pepper’s break up,” and here he paused, making a point of looking Steve directly in the eye, “even his eternal playboy ways.”

Steve was getting angry at being ignored, and even though he knew about most of the points Rhodes was trying to overwhelm him with, and was aware of their veracity, the one that had disturbed him the most was the one that he didn’t know anything at all. Just thinking of someone taking Tony like that…

He took a calming breath, if Steve was going to hear the details of the rapist situation, he wanted Tony to explain it to Steve himself. That last one, though, the ‘playboy ways’, he  **had**  already talked with Tony about, and he really didn’t appreciate Rhodes referring to it as if it was something that Tony couldn’t change. That he HAD changed a long time ago.  It was as if the Colonel was trying to say something that Steve didn’t appreciate. “What are you trying to s–”

“Of course you wouldn’t know anything about all of that, because you just got your ass unfrozen and barged into Tony’s life with the sudden purpose of making him miserable for over six months.”

Steve felt those words like a good punch in the gut. He thought that he now understood Rhodes’ resentment towards him better. He'd thought it was a simple case of  _‘Get off my little Tony ‘cause I’m his best friend and I look after him’_. He had been wrong. Rhodes didn’t like him because of the way he had made Tony feel the first few months, when they were fighting over every single thing, just to make the other feel bad.

The sudden realization that he and Tony had never talked about those months hurt Steve even more. He didn’t know if Tony had forgiven Steve for belittling him for not being like his father. Steve knew now that Tony was so much more.

“And now everything is all better and you love each other? Don’t make me laugh,” Rhodes continued his tone full of skepticism. “I know that Tony really cares for you, and that’s the only reason you’re still alive, Rogers. I know you’re not so dumb that you can’t see how much Tony cares for you and that he would do anything for you. So cut the crap and make your intentions clear, because I’m not buying your fucking lovey-dovey stunt.”

“Hey, listen here,” Steve growled, his voice low and dark. There was no more  _getting_   _angry_. Now, Steve was royally  ** _pissed_**. “I don’t give a darn who you think–”

“Hey, guys, coffee’s ready…” Just when Steve wanted to make Rhodes understand, possibly by shaking him a little or perhaps a punch here and there, Tony came in with three cups of coffee. Apparently, the atmosphere was so suffocating that even Tony caught on that something was off. “Everything alright over here?”

“Of course, dumbass, now hand me that cup ‘cause I haven’t had a decent cup of coffee in a while.” And just like that, Rhodes was his usual self around Tony, and Steve couldn’t stop regretting that he had just lost a battle to the Colonel. He comforted himself with the internal declaration that this whole conversation was merely Round One; he definitely would not lose the war.

At least Rhodes wouldn’t interfere with Tony’s love life more than this.

Right?

 

* * *

 

 

Jan thought he was crazy. As in  _completely_  crazy.

Why? Well, she simply thought that Steve was nuts for thinking that Colonel Rhodes, as Tony’s best pal, wouldn’t stick his nose into their love life.

“Really, Steve,” she said as if explaining to a particularly slow child. “Don’t you know that the first step to a relationship free of rocks in your path is to ALWAYS make sure that the best friend likes you?!”

“How so?”

“You’re kidding, right?” When she saw the honest confusion on Steve’s face, she let an exasperated sigh leave her mouth. “I sometimes forget that you're older than a dinosaur. Have you never heard the saying ‘boyfriends come and go, but friends are forever’, more commonly known as ‘bro’s before ho’s’? No? Right. Well, something that has changed a lot since the 40’s would be the appreciation of friends, especially since divorces started to be so common. People realized that your friends stick with you no matter what but a romantic relationship can end with just a stupid quarrel.”

“That’s certainly not true.” Steve refused to believe that the way people these days saw commitment was anywhere near true. Especially when they were so open-minded about a lot of other stuff nowadays. “Tony and I fight every now and then and we are perfectly fine.”

“Well, yes. That’s what mature relationships are about, but you do realize that if you left it to Tony to fix your arguments, you’d have already broken up, right?”

That was  _mostly_  true. Steve knew that Tony wasn’t as bad at relationships as most people would probably expect of him, given his reputation. Though, Steve was happy when he’d realized that if you put all of Tony’s insecurities and truly horrendous self-esteem issues behind, he was actually pretty good at it.

 

They  _had_  struggled a lot when all of this started, but Steve was never one to give up on the few worthy things that crashed into his life, and he was glad that he had never given up on Tony. The genius was getting better by the day at the ‘relationship stuff’, as he called it.

However, he still remembered their first argument as a couple, when Tony had thought that fighting over his lack of self-preservation instinct warranted a break up. Steve had never laughed so hard in his life. Then they’d had tons of glorious make-up-sex.

“Steve Rogers, stop thinking perverted thoughts and focus!” Jan nagged at him and Steve realized that he had spaced out a little.

“Sorry, Jan. What were you saying?” He honestly was sorry; Jan was just trying to help.

“You were thinking about make-up-sex, weren’t you?” Jan asked slyly, with a huge grin.

Steve sometimes forgot the danger of displaying any form of affection towards Tony in front of the little, devious woman, even if Tony wasn’t around; she seemed to be over-interested in their relationship. Tony suspected she was taking pictures of them making out and selling them on the internet to the highest bidder.

At Steve’s fidgeting and evident blushing, Jan decided to spare him a little from embarrassment and instead continued with the important topic. “Anyway, for someone like Tony, Rhodes’ opinion of you is very important. If Rhodey dislikes you, the Colonel may try to persuade Tony to move on to someone ‘better for him’” she finished, with air quotes.

“I don’t think that Colonel Rhodes would do something like that.”

“Normally, I would agree, but this is  _Tony_  we’re talking about here, Steve.” Suddenly, Janet was completely serious. “I mean, if we’re protective of him, can you imagine how protective someone who has been with Tony through all of his problems since they were like, sixteen would be?”

“You're right; he mentioned something like that.”

“’ I’m never wrong,” agreed Janet. “Now, you have to stop believing this doesn’t matter. Tony is never going to leave you, Steve, you know that, but it means a lot to him that you to get along with his most treasured friends, and since you’re already on the good side of all the members of the Avengers, you’ve actually got it pretty easy.”

“You’re probably right, Jan, I would want Tony to get along with Bucky, too. But I don’t know what to do to make Rhodes like me,” Steve confessed. “He was pretty clear about his distaste for me, and it’s not like he even let me defend myself.”

“Then maybe you should talk to him,” Jan suggested, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Clear things up.”

“Yeah, it really is important to Tony,” Steve added, thoughtful. “He was really nervous when he told me he thought it was time for him to tell Rhodes about us.”

“More nervous than when you were going to tell us?” asked Jan, bemused. Tony had almost passed out when she’d lecherously asked him, in the middle of a movie night when they were the only three present, about the Stark-sounding-moans coming from Steve’s room the night before. When Tony had refused to answer her, and Steve was a speechless, blushing mess, she’d told them she already knew they were together and that she had tons of proof to back her up, so they should probably stop trying to hide their relationship.

After that they’d been forced to come clean with the whole team.  Ever since, Tony had been afraid of Jan’s lecherous smirk, whilst Steve had made her his go-to person when he had relationship problems.

“Definitely, but only until Rhodes arrived, then he handled it pretty well.”

“Damn it!” she swore. “I would have loved to be there!” Steve chuckled in response.

“So, should I give him a call?”

“Sure thing!”

 

* * *

 

 

Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes answered the phone at the first ring. His voice tight and sharp.

 _“What’s wrong with Tony?”_  he demanded.

Steve needed a few seconds to process the question and try not to stutter when he answered. “Nothing, I was-”

_“Then what do you want, Captain? I’m in the middle of something important.”_

“I was just thinking that maybe we started with the wrong-”

_“Captain, cut the bullshit. What do you want? I don’t have time for your babbling.”_

Despite Steve’s effort of draining his quickly growing anger with a quiet sigh, he found that he couldn’t let anyone talk to him like that. Not even his lover’s best friend. “You’re being rude without a cause, Colonel, I would suggest for you to-”

_“So I’m judging without knowing? Is that what you’re saying? I feel like I’m getting this from the wrong person, Rogers.”_

 Steve was now seeing red. He knew what exactly the Colonel was bluntly hinting about; he could almost see Tony in front of him calling him a laboratory experiment just after he told him in lot of words how he was such a  _failure_.

And he felt guilty enough for someone who hadn’t even been there to add to it.

“So this is what this is all about to you? You’re pulling the ‘an eye for an eye’ game here? This isn’t a game, Rhodes, this is about Tony and-”

 _“And for once we agree on something; this_    ** _is_  **  _about Tony and how you’re just an asshole who thinks he’s better than anyone for pulling Tony through his bad habits with great sex. He’s not a charity case, Rogers. Find someone else to pity on because Tony Stark is a great man who deserves to be loved the way he is.”_

“How dare you assume-!”

And before the whole sentence leaved his mouth, Steve could hear the constant bip of his phone’s line indicating the dead line.

He hung up on him.

Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes just hung up on Steve leaving him with the word in his mouth. Again.

Now Steve had to ask Tony for a new phone. It had been a while since he had felt so damn frustrated and now the poor technological thing laid spread out all over the floor where it’d crashed loudly. And he was just starting to get a grip on the texting and on the saving contacts with their pictures. The idea of struggling with a new, unknown phone just made him, if possible, more irritated.

“Steve?” the familiar voice calling him from the doorframe of their room made him relax at least a little. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Steve lied taking a long calming breath that betrayed his words. Tony approached him carefully and put both of his hand soothingly on his shoulders, giving him a little massage. The brunette was searching for his eyes in an attempt to read the blonde better.

Steve couldn't stand still anymore and before he knew it, he was on his feet with his hands tightly curled in fists, walking in small circles and ready to punch something into another dimension where not even Reed would find it.

“Of course you are,” the genius conceded sarcastically eyeing the destroyed device. “I can even see the wonderful piece of art you were trying to create with the wall, the floor and the newest Starkphone. Very modern, let me tell you.” Tony didn't give up his need to comfort Steve and he followed his walk until he was standing infront of him. At seeing his calmed, worried stare, Steve at last relaxed a little and let Tony cup his face with both hands.

“Sorry.” He whispered sincerely, soothed by Tony’s touch and sarcasm when once upon a time it would’ve surely triggered another fight.

“What happened?” Tony inquired gently while running his hands slowly up and down Steve’s neck. The Captain gave up his tense demeanor and found comfort by rounding Tony’s slim waist with his arms. “You seem really frustrated, and don’t you try to deny it because that’s my normal state and I can recognize it from miles away.”

“I would think your normal state would be something between  _loud_  and  _stubborn_.” He teased with a little smile.

“Now, that’s just mean. I can be perfectly quiet and submissive when I want to be.” Tony stated with fake-indignation.

“If you’re talking about sex, and you always are, then I would totally discard the quiet thing. It’s simply not possible for you.” Steve replied pulling Tony closer to hug him completely, tucking his lover's face under Steve's strong jaw. His lover’s hands adjusted to the new position and were transferred to Steve’s back, resuming their soothing spell in the form of lazy circles. “I really love the way you are noisy in bed. You know that, right?”

At Steve’s question, Tony pulled back a little so he could cup the blonde’s cheek with one hand and force him to look Tony straight into his eyes. “Steve, what’s wrong?”

“I just want you to know that.” Steve lied smoothly. But maybe not so much considering the skeptical look he was receiving from Tony.

For one instant there, he wanted to ask about the so called rapist. It was something that had been nagging him since it came out of Rhodes’ mouth. But considering the urge of shaking answers out of his lover so he could hunt down the responsible and make them pay dearly, he decided, for the sake of avoiding a big argument, to voice his other concern instead: “I never apologized for the things I called you when we met.” He confessed finally.

“What?” Tony now looked confused. “Is that what’s been bothering you? Why? That was like years ago.”

“I just realized that we never really talked about it.”

“Well, I thought it wasn’t necessary considering that I wasn’t a defenseless victim enduring your evil harassment since I was striking right back at you, Steve. We are both guilty.”

“But I started it,” Steve accepted in a whisper. “I made you feel miserable for a while and you didn’t deserve it.”

“How did you…?” Tony tried to ask, surprise reflected in his eyes. Steve could even recognize the hint of anger hidden in the depth of his dark-blue orbs. Tony was now pushing against his chest trying to make Steve let go so he could create some distance between them, except that Steve didn’t let him; he knew that Tony was more prone to get mad at him when he was out of his arms and the blonde simply didn’t feel like letting go, anyway. In addition, Steve really wanted all of this sorted out as soon as possible, which was unlikely to happen if he had to chase after Tony.

As if suddenly turning on a really bright light, Tony looked sharply at Steve as if he suddenly understood everything that was happening in his mind.

“Is this about  _Rhodey_?” he asked hitting the nail head on. At least he’d stopped trying to get away in favor of what seemed to be headed to a bad-cop-interrogation. “Did he say something to you?”

Steve then realized that the anger wasn’t directed at him. At least not entirely.

Even if Rhodes frustrated him big time, it would be unfair of him to get him in trouble with Tony over the phone call that Steve had initiated. Besides, like hell would he go to his lover to  _tell on_  the guy for insulting him and ‘hurting his feelings’. He would rather have another pleasant chat with the Colonel.

“No. We were just talking and he was just… We were just talking about-”

“Steve, stop right there. You’re a horrible liar. Really, I know that Captain America isn't expected to lie and all that, but seeing you try is painful.” Tony stated, cutting his stuttering. “What did Rhodey say to you?”

At Steve's silence, Tony scowled a little in suspicion. “Don’t worry; you don’t have to tell me, we had a discussion about you a few days after we told him about us, so I can easily guess.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I asked him what the hell did he do to make you punch your way through all my sandbags the day he came over. I had a vested interest in asking, you see, especially considering that we had about fifty of them, and you had to sweep the sand all night leaving me all alone in bed. You’re making the people who sell me all the boxing equipment quite happy, Steve.”

“Sorry.” He apologized regretfully. He really did feel bad when Tony had to buy stuff because he broke them; he had enough to repair because of Bruce hulking out as it was. At Tony’s wave of dismissal, he inquired, “So? What did he tell you when you asked?”

“He was pissed that I was going out with a national icon that ‘probably just have a crush on me’. I told him that his lack of faith in me was insulting.” He scoffed. “I can’t believe that he actually told you directly to leave me alone or something. I was pretty clear when I told him to leave you alone.”

It was something in the wording of the last phraise that had Steve understanding just how important Rhodes was to Tony. No ‘fuck off!’, nor ‘go stick your nose wherever it’s your business’, not even ‘leave  ** _us_**  alone’. Just, to leave  ** _Steve_** alone.

“But what did he tell you exactly for you to be this angry? I’m thinking that that was a really nice phone, so  _now_  you have to tell me,” his lover demanded with clear indignation on his behalf and Steve thought that was adorable. “Did he call you?”

“No, I called him.” Steve confessed which made Tony blink his eyes in surprise. “Yeah, I asked JARVIS his mobile phone number, but apparently he already had mine because he knew it was me the moment he answered.”

“ **You**   _called_  him? You called him to his  _personal_  phone?!” Tony asked like he couldn’t believe his idiocy. “Do you have a death wish or something?!”

“What?” Steve asked naively, not understanding what the big fuss was over. “I thought that we could fix things. Maybe start again?”

“Steve, judging by the way you ended up breaking half of the gym’s equipment (shut up! The sandbags  _are_  half of the gym’s equipment!), and the way you pulverized your unbreakable Starkphone, I can only assume that he didn’t like your conversation on the phone.”

“Well, I had to try.” Steve insisted.

“And you did,” His lover agreed gratefully, smiling warmly at him. “And I know you did it for me, so I’m really happy to have someone like you with me, but if you think I’m hardheaded, then that’s because you don’t know Rhodey, at all. He’ll come around with time, Steve. With a  _lot_  of time, frankly, but let it go for now.”

“Tony,” Steve in a persuasive tone, “I know this is very important to you. Maybe I should try one more time?”

“Seriously, Steve, let it go. So what if my best friend doesn’t like you? I love you and that’s what it’s important, right?” he finished his statement with a chaste kiss on Steve’s lips and a good grope of his ass to show his encouragement in his own way.

“Right...”

Steve, being Captain America and all, wasn’t convinced that their conversation could realy mean the end of the whole situation. Things were never that easy no matter the finality in Tony’s voice. Instead, he gave Tony a well planted kiss and before it could turn into a passionate one, he pulled back and continued with the topic at hand.

“Tony, what did you tell Rhodes about me for him to dislike me so much?” Steve really wanted to know what had warranted such hostility towards him. At Tony’s guilty expression, Steve decided to reassure him before his lover had time to turn his obvious thoughts of ‘Danger! I gotta go!’ into action. “Not that I blame you, Tony, you know I don’t; I just want to know before I face him again.”

At Tony’s obvious reluctance, Steve thought the worse, but really, he couldn’t feel hurt about it since he complained about Tony a lot in those days, too. “Please, I’m going to have to meet him eventually and I want to be prepared.” He added.

“But you have to remember that I was just angry and I didn’t really know you and it–” Tony started in a rush.

“Tony, I know. Just tell me.” Steve asked taking both of his hands in between his big ones, his thumbs massaging the back of his lover’s hands.

“Fine!” he exclaimed loudly with resignation. “I told him you’re nothing but a charade; that the instance you got out of the ice you decided that you were too much for this world but you were going to grant us the  _favor_  of your presence by ordering us around; that I couldn’t stop seeing you as a brainless gorilla wrapped in a flag and couldn’t picture myself following you anywhere.”

“…Well, that wasn’t so bad.” By that, Steve meant  _‘Ouch!’_. But still, it didn’t sound personal enough for the Colonel to hate him.

“And then I kindda ruined it when I got really drunk with Rhodey and just couldn’t stop  _talking_.” Tony confessed in a lower tone. “I told him that you thought that I was nothing like my dad and that I never will be; I said to him that everytime you looked at me I could feel you searching for someone who wasn’t there and that you’d just get mad at me about it.

“I said to him that you’d insinuated that I was nothing but a spoiled brat who made himself an expensive toy in order to cure some of my boredom; that you told me that I just fought for myself and didn’t give a damn about anyone else and that I should stop acting like a hero because I was too selfish to ever become one.”

“… Tony.” Steve couldn’t feel guiltier, especially because he  _knew_  that some of that was right; he had looked at Tony expecting him to fill a void within Steve than no one else could for being the only remote connection to his past. The impossible expectations and the disappointment he felt when he believed that Tony only fought for himself. “Oh my God, Tony, I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, you shouldn’t be. Stop looking at me like that, Steve.” Steve knew he meant the pained face he was probably pulling right now. “I called you a brainless gorilla wrapped in a flag. I think we’re even.”

But they would never be even because Steve knew that Tony not only surpassed all his expectations, but he really  _did_  fill the void within him in an entirely different, unexpected way. That was something he wouldn’t ever be able to repay.

And just like that, a pair of lips were seeking his own in order to cheer him up. Steve allowed himself to let go off Tony’s hands in order to cradle one of his lover’s cheek with his left while the right went around his waist and pulled him impossibly closer.

After what felt like a moment that Steve didn’t want to end, Tony broke the kiss too soon in order to look him in the eyes.

“Besides, this isn’t about me and my daddy issues.” Tony clarified with a smug look, probably at Steve’s lusty face. His lover’s arms clinging around his shoulders left Steve wondering when they got there. “We get enough of that.”

“True.” He teased with a smile. “So let’s get to the part that started all of this: What was the Colonel's response to  _that_?”

“Okay, his part I’m gonna make a small polite resume.” Tony announced warily. Steve could tell that he wasn’t going to like it. “He said that you were nothing but a big asshole that didn’t read the files before judging me and that your ego got to the point where you couldn’t see beyond your ‘greatness’ and that you should shut the fuck up when you didn’t know shit.”

“And that was the resume.” Steve knew that Tony was probably molding whole phrases for the sake of his anger. Steve considered the words rude even diluted like that.

“He was just upset because he was the one who found me almost death in the desert, Steve.” Tony stated, trying to defend his friend a little. “He was pretty upset that you thought that the suit was some kind of toy for my entertainment when I built it to escape a facility where I was being tortured for kicks. I guess he took it personal.”

“Well, I probably deserved that,” Steve agreed with a wince when his mind started running all kind of scenarios of Tony being tortured and dying in the dessert. Accepting it didn’t mean that it had to make him feel any better, though.

“He’s just trying to be a good friend and look after me, you know that, right?” Tony asked hopefully. Steve couldn’t help but feel worse at how blind he had been to be unable to see such an amazing person as the one standing before him; even when trying to please Steve by telling him what he wanted to know, he would still show loyalty to his best friend trying at the same time to defend his actions. He was still trying to make Steve understand how much Rhodes meant to him.

“Of course,” he conceded easily. “I feel like I own him a lot considering that looking after  ** _you_** _,_  of all people, tend to be an almost impossible task.”

“Hey! I resent that!” Tony complained while playfully trying to push him away. Steve only held on tighter regaining his smile. “I’m a perfectly pliable person when I want to be.”

"I agree," Steve conceded easily with a snort, “Then again, that is only when you absolutely  _want_  to. But I’ve never seen you want to be ‘pliable’ outside the bedroom.”

“And you said  _I’m_  the one who can’t keep his mind out of the gutter.” Tony teased while trying to make his smirk look like a sweet smile and failing horribly. The brunette was now running his hand all over his chest with obviously faked innocence.

“Well… Since I seem to be incapable of thinking of nothing but ‘the gutter’…” Steve lifted Tony bridal-style, who totally shrieked in surprise. Steve didn’t give him time to complain when he threw him almost immediately towards the bed, making him land perfectly on the middle before he could protest the ‘princess treatment’, as he called it. Super aim did come useful in a lot of different ways. “Why don’t we give it a try?” he asked while crawling over to Tony, positioning himself between expecting legs.

“See? This is why I get confused when people ask me if you’re any shy in the sack.” Tony joked and pulled him down for a mind-blowing kiss.

Steve responded in kindly. He decided to stop it after a while when he noticed that there were too many clothes between them.

When he caught sight of the arc reactor, he couldn’t help but halt his clothes-removing-actions and kiss tenderly around it, just like the first time they’d made love. This artifact was the reason Tony’s heart was still beating and he couldn’t be more grateful for its existence.

Used to listen to the faraway whisper that was his conscience, Steve couldn't help but recognize its voice reminding him that if Rhodes hadn’t found Tony in that dessert in the middle of nowhere, he wouldn’t be kissing the best thing that’s ever happened to him in that moment.

Crap...

He was so screwed.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I explained in another one of my stories, I'm still in the quest for making my stories a little more legible by spliting chapters and getting a beta. I don't know how that last one works, so meanwhile, I'll split this story and keep counting on you guys to help me improve my stories.
> 
> Enjoy!

“He said WHAT?!”

“He thinks I’m scum, Jan.” Steve confessed the next morning after Tony had ran to his workshop while muttering something about never being enough coffee in the tower. He remarked his words with a resigned sigh. “I tried to talk to him, but he kept making accusations that made me want to kick his ass into a far away universe even more than I had ever wished to do to another villain. Thank God that we were talking over the phone; I’m not so sure I’d had been able to contain myself face to face.”

“Steve, what are you saying?! You should’ve kicked his ass, anyway! He’s being a completely unfair asshole!” Jan yelled while pacing on the kitchen’s floor with absolute rage. Everyone had already left to mind in their own business after breakfast, so the blond didn't mind the loud talking and the furious pacing. Steve knew she didn’t really feel like beating his lover’s best friend up was the answer, but her anger was genuine and Steve was glad he had someone like her to support him. “You didn’t deserve that! Is he blind or something?! How dare he think that you only like Tony because it makes you look like a Good Samaritan!?”

“Wow, when you put it like that it’s even worse.” Steve affirmed while trying to suppress a flinch. “But there’s nothing I can do. Tony told me to give it up.”

Jan stopped her now furious flying around the coffee table in order to look at the blonde with a soft, understanding gaze. She had refused to sit before in favor of scuffing the floor with her heels as she stomped over it with more force than necessary; it was her way of showing how much the situation angered her.

Jan transformed back to her normal size and then let her full weight fall graciously on the seat next to Steve with a dramatic sigh. She took her formerly forgotten cup of cold coffee and took a small sip, grimacing at his now undesirable flavor.

“But you don’t want to.” It wasn’t a question.

“No, I don’t,” Steve replied anyway with new found determination. “This is very important to Tony, even though he is denying it probably for the sake of not bothering me.” He explained, "But is not like I'm easily insulted and I'm far from easily defeated. I'm not that kind of person."

“Maybe he thinks that Rhodey will come around?” she asked hopefully stretching her tiny hand to take the one that Steve wasn’t using to hold his cup of coffee. It was then that the super soldier realized that his own cup had turned cold as well, so he put it on the table beside Jan’s, using it so that both of his hands covered one of hers in appreciation.

“He may say so, but I can assure you he thinks it’s a lost cause.” Steve sometimes thought that he would rather fight a whole army of supervillains instead of trying to deal with someone that you can’t just  _make_  understand, worse if they didn’t even  _listen_  to you. If Tony ever found out that Steve sometimes thought that way, he would laugh at him before making bad jokes about the honorable Captain America wanting to kick ass rather than  _talk_. And then he would tell Clint, just to have someone to make jokes whenever Tony wasn’t around.

Yeah, he’d take those thoughts to the grave. Or at least nowhere near Charles Xavier… nor his creepy magnetic villain of a boyfriend. Just in case.

"He probably does," she agreed, "you should have seen him when Natasha was giving _Tony_ the Shovel Talk; he probably lost hope on being on the good side of everyone. But she came around!"

"The _what_?" Steve asked, not understanding what the small woman was talking about, "what's a shovel talk?"

“Anyway! That's a story for another moment!" She dismised his cuestion with a wave of her hand. Steve was going to complain, but she continued with a malicious glint in her eyes and the blond decided to leave it for now. "Now, my friend, if you’re that determined to talk to Rhodey and try to patch things up (or at least get a little revenge for what he said– just saying! No need to glare at me like that!), then we call in the big cavalry.”

“Do we even have a cavalry for these kinds of things?” Steve asked disbelievingly.

“Steven Rogers, I am disapointed in you! I can’t believe you’re Tony Stark’s lover and you can’t think about the big, HUGE, cavalry!” she stated with somewhere between excitement and bemusement.

Steve didn’t know what to make of that.

* * *

 

But then again, he felt very stupid for not thinking of the Big Cavalry himself.

Pretty huge, indeed.

“ _Potts._ ” Was the dry reply after just the first ring.

“Um… Hi, Miss Potts, it’s-”

 _“Captain?”_  she asked right away, the tone changing noticeably from professional to concerned.  _“What happened to Tony? Is he okay?”_

 “Why does Tony's friends always think that something’s wrong with him?” Steve asked with humor. He figured it would be best not to lead this conversation anywhere near to a repetition of the call with Rhodes, so he has started with a little humor. But this time he wasn’t nervous; this was Pepper. Pepper  _liked_  Steve, didn’t she?

 _“Oh, so this is because of something he did.”_  She stated confidently with a hint of resignation.  _“What did he do?”_

“Nothing. He hasn’t done anything out of normal lately, really.” Steve defended his lover a little. It was true that Tony was a troublemaker, but he’s always been able to find his own way out of every problem he caused, even when sometimes his solution was to self-destruct and it would cause more harm than good. Now that he thought about it, perhaps Pepper was a big reason why both Tony and his company were still alive and functioning.

 _“Is that why you’re calling me?”_  Pepper inquired doubtfully.  _“Are you worried because he’s_ **not** _making any trouble?”_  a small pause.  _“Okay, now I’m worried too. Did he lock himself in the workshop, again?”_

“No! It’s nothing like that, I promise! It’s not about Tony.” At the disbelieving scoff over the other side of the line, Steve tried to elaborate. “Well, it  _is_ about Tony in some way-”

_“Consider me shocked.”_

“But it’s more about Colonel Rhodes.” He finished trying to ignore her implication. It seemed that out of office’s duties Tony was rubbing a little on Pepper, or maybe this sarcasm came with her and was the reason they got along so well.

At her silence, Steve wished he could be face-to-face with Tony’s right-hand-woman so he could gauge her expression, which was probably somewhere near astonished. “Miss Potts?” he asked tentatively.

He really should start to call Tony’s friends more often if this was the response he was likely to get.

 _“I certainly wasn’t expecting_ that _.”_  She admitted shortly after his cuestion, but she now sounded a little amused _. “And it’s Pepper for you, Captain.”_

“If that’s the case, please call me Steve.” He replied politely.

 _“Of course,”_  she agreed “ _what can I do for you then, Steve?”_

And here came the hard part “Um, were you– are you aware that the Colonel, well, you know-”

 _“You’re asking me if I’m aware of Rhodey’s hateful ways for you?”_  she guessed easily and it was obvious that she didn’t need an answer to her own question that she didn’t wait for him to reply,  _“Of course I’m aware. Do you want to know why he feels that way?”_

“No, he stated that clearly enough himself.” He murmured a little angrily. “I just want to know what would you suggest to be a good approach with him so he’d stop insulting me for an instant and start to actually listening to what I have to say. And of course I would be willing to listen to what he has to say in return.” He added quickly.

 _“Captain. Steve. Rhodey doesn’t like you at all.”_ She clarified without cutting around the bush. _“And it may not even be personal, you see. He’s been protective of Tony since the day they met, but when the three-month-kidnapping happened, his protectiveness became_ **over** _-protectiveness. I think he felt responsible because this was the first kidnapping that happened on his own watch.”_

“Tony had been kidnapped before Afghanistan?” Steve asked tentatively. He didn’t know about this, either. He should know about these things! First the mysterious rapist and now this; he was going to have a long, long talk with a probably resisting Tony about this.

 _“Since he was a little boy, Captain.”_ Pepper confessed in a dark tone. _“I suppose it’s part of the price he had to pay for being so rich since the moment he was born.”_

“That’s just-” Steve had a hard time imagining Tony being tortured in those caves, but the image of a little Tony Stark being kidnapped as if it were a regular occurrence made him want to be sick. “How many times?”

 _“Enough times to force Howard and then Tony to make a strict non-ransom policy for SI .However, perhaps that’s something that Tony should tell you himself,”_ Pepper decided,  _“What we should be concerned about right now is the really short possibility of Rhodey quitting insulting you enough for you to be able to talk to him. But!”_  she added when she probably heard the disillusioned sigh that came from Steve’s mouth.  _“Rhodey’s a truly rational man; it would be the only way you can keep up with Tony without wanting to or rather_ ** _trying_** _to kill him.”_

“So what you’re saying is… that all of us must be rational or Tony would be already dead?” asked Steve honestly confused. It did make sense in some twisted kind of way, but not enough for him to link it to the topic.

 _“What I’m saying, Steve, is that I’m going to try to help you,”_  She corrected with amusement.  _“Since I know that you’re doing this for Tony, I‘ll call Rhodey personally and arrange some kind of meeting in a neutral zone. Sounds good?”_

“Really? Would you do that for me? I would really appreciate that.” Steve thanked relieved that he was going to let this situation on very capable hands. For a moment, he understood plainly Tony’s appreciation for the redhead.

 _“For Tony, anything.”_  She clarified with a chuckle.  _“But at this point I really don’t see the difference. And you really are very helpful to keep him out of trouble.”_

Steve blushed at the insinuation. “Thank you, anyway.”

 _“He really loves you, Steve.”_  Her tone made a drastic change as she said that; she was serious. Death serious.  _“He may be a little intense, but you’re a very lucky guy for having someone like Tony to love you the way he does. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”_

A warm feeling filled Steve at those words coming from someone so close to Tony. “I wouldn’t.”

_“I’m probably being unfair in saying this since the possibilities of Tony’s idiocy making an appearance are way higher than they should be and most of the times it creates an awful lot of misunderstandings to ignore; however I have to get it off of my chest for the sake of my sanity. I hope you don’t mind.”_

“Um, no, not at all,” Steve conceded curiously. “Go ahead.”

_“If you hurt Tony, you won’t live to see another day, Steve Rogers, I’ll make sure of that.”_

And Steve’s mind went blank just for the voice alone. When he processed the words and stuttered for a response, Pepper had already hanged up on him.

Noted, when he thought that he had it easy with Tony’s lack of parents to impress and apparently normal friends with normal jobs, he wasn’t really thinking of how  _ **not normal**_  Tony’s real friends were, after all.

Steve believed every single word out of Pepper’s threat, but couldn't help but smile, anyway. She truly was an amazing woman.

* * *

 

It didn’t take long for Pepper to send him a short message with the date, time and place where he was expected to meet the Colonel. She didn’t even write him to say if Rhodes was aware of the meeting or not, only to ‘be punctual’.

After a few more rounds of Jan’s advice and a lot of inner-meditating to increase his already unbelieving patience, Steve thought he was ready to face Rhodes. When he left the tower with intentions of taking a cab, he was surprised to find Happy Hogan waiting for him with Tony’s business limo behind him running and ready. Steve was suddenly nervous by the unexpected arrival of the ex-boxer; it could mean that he was about to be threatened by the chauffeur at the first opportunity.

“Happy,” he acknowledged the smiling man with a small nod. “What are you doing here? Did Pepper ask you to come for Tony?”

“Captain,” He greeted while offering his hand for a shake and Steve shook it gladly. Here was the last friend of Tony’s who, the three together, meant a great part of  the genius’ world  and he hadn’t even tried to threaten Steve yet, which was always a plus. He was probably the one that he spend the most time with in comparison with the rest of Tony's friend since Pepper was always traveling for bussiness and Rhodes was on duty. Happy usually drove Tony and him to a lot of social events where they would pretend to go as friends.

Steve couldn't wait for the whole world to know about them so they could actually go to those things as a couple and for the dames to stop trying to hit on Tony and himself in front of each other; there was so much that he could handle.

In the other hand, Tony was used to play his part for the whole world to see and didn't care much about the theatrics he had to pull in a social convention. Not that Steve cared much about what unkown people thought of him, hence wanting to come out to the world, but Steve knew that Tony’s real 'whole world’ was a little restricted; there was his friends, Jarvis, his creations –which included JARVIS, the bots and SI–, the Avengers and himself.

“A pleasure as always,” Hogan complimented politely, “And answering your question, Pepper didn’t exactly send me for the boss; she told me about your conversation last night over dinner and I thought it would be a good idea to contribute a little to the little assault you three seem to have going on now better than later so you can get this over with, if you don’t mind.”

And there went Steve’s gratefulness for the lack of hostility down the sewer. Apparently Tony knew how to pick friends, because these ones cared enough to threaten Captain America personally one by one. But Hogan was right; he really did want to get this friends-bullying phase over with.

Something must have shown on his face since Happy chuckled and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Nothing like Pepper and Rhodey, Captain, rest assured. It’s simply not my style and I’m sure you’re doomed to live through Jarvis’ polite harassing in the near future, and let me tell you something; British butlers can be quite scary. So my condolences and my most sincere sympathy. ”

Jarvis. Steve hadn’t thought about Jarvis. Either of them.

The way things were going, he was probably condemned to be threatened by Dummy as well. Now that he thought about it, the robot probably did try in his own way when he first met him. Thank God that he passed that test with flying colors if Dummy’s robotic affection was any indication.

But Jarvis and JARVIS were a whole different package.

“Don’t sulk, Captain!” Happy asked with clear amusement. "You have to know that I really do like you and that I think that you're great for the boss.

“Captain America does not sulk.” He said dryly. “Not now, not ever.”

“That’s exactly what the boss said you always say when he tells you you’re sulking!” the chauffer remarked with an easy laugh full of amazement. “But before we touch the subject, you should probably get in the car first. Rhodey will literally kill you if you are late. And let me tell you, Captain, America’s biggest hero is not having a painfully death under my watch.”

At first, Steve had been surprised that Tony had a friend like Happy when he first met him.  The super soldier had thought that Hogan didn’t look like the kind of civilian who would stick with Tony’s eccentric ways in the long run. However, Steve could effortlessly see what Tony liked so much about Hogan's easy way after he spend more time with the chauffeur; it was probably a tempting thing to have near when you have people as organized as Pepper and Rhodes around all the time.

"Thanks, Happy", Steve said as he got into the limo and on the copilot seat so Happy could close the door behind him. Steve thought he may have imagined the little pleased smile that flashed on the driver’s face as he rounded the car to get on the pilot’s seat. For what? Steve would never know.

“So,” Happy began with what Steve assumed was going to be an awkward conversation. “I know that Pepper and Rhodey were a little unfair to you. Pepper admitted it herself,”

“Yeah, she said that to me as well.” Steve confessed shrugging his shoulders.

“She did? That’s so like Pepper.” He responded dreamily. Steve saw then one of the things that Pepper possibly liked of Happy; if a simple thing like that could get him such a love-gaze, then he really must adore her. “Yes, I do love her a lot.”

Steve didn’t even try to stop the blush of utter embarrassment when he realized that he had said that out loud. Tony was rubbing more and more on him if he was starting to talk out loud without his own permission. Not a good sign. “Sorry.”

Another good-hearted laugh came from the driver’s mouth.“Don’t worry, Captain, you should see the way the boss looks when he talks about you.” And before Steve thought that his blush couldn’t get any deeper, Happy continued, “And let me tell you something, if someone knows everything about the boss’ conquests, that would be me, don’t think Pepper knows everything about the boss; I’ve drove enough times to his Malibu mansion way too early in the mornings with the specific instructions of going to take boss’, let’s call them ‘party friends’, back home.

“To my initial surprise, I found that they were really scarce the girls that complained about the boss’ treatment; most of them were already dialing on their mobiles to brag about it the moment they’d get in the car, or they were just happy that they managed to get into boss’ drunken pants.”

“That’s…” Steve searched for the correct adjective. “Not nice.”

“It wasn’t nice from any of them, including the boss.” Happy agreed not taking his eyes from the road. “So imagine my surprise when the boss, out of nowhere, told me how  _adorable_  Captain America was when he blushed! Believe me, ‘adorable’ is not a word within a Stark’s vocabulary if it’s not accompanied with sarcasm. I was really shocked; I almost missed a red light... that’s a funny story for another day, by the way.” Happy concluded.

“I don’t really need to hear that story…” Steve could die for embarrassment anytime now. “Ever.”

“Your loss.” Happy assured with a chuckle. “But that’s the whole point, Captain, since the moment you two stopped fighting like a divorced couple, the boss’ve been love sick. You should’ve felt the aura around him when you both were in your ‘its-unrequited-love!’ phase; he was a complete mess... more than usual.”

Steve knew it should feel weird to hear this kind of stuff from someone other than Tony himself, but he couldn’t help the pleasant curling of his stomach at thinking that his genius has loved Steve for as long as he’d loved him.

“Captain, what I’m trying to say is this: yes, I’ll hold a grudge on you if you ever hurt the boss’ feelings, but I know the boss is a big guy who can take care of himself just fine and I’ve got more faith in you than anyone that has ever ridden this car with me before.

“I know you only want what’s best for the boss and I don’t think there’s anyone better suited to deal with him and keep him alive at the same time.” Happy complimented while pointedly looking at the road. Steve couldn’t stop the smile reaching his face at the words. He felt a little guilty for doubting Happy’s honest and free spirit. “Pepper does think so too, by the way. She’s just holding a grudge for what she calls ‘Tony mopping over me for months while I had to deal with everything at the company at the same time!’ stage when you were still fighting like five-year-olds. In reality, she’d blamed you for saying stuff that hurt the boss at first, but she’s over that, she knows it was a two way street and she can see how good you’re for the boss.”

“Should you be telling me this?” Steve couldn’t stop himself from asking. He did want to know, but these were Pepper’s thoughts, nevertheless.

“Ah, don’t worry about it,” the chauffer dismissed with a pronounced wave of the hand closest to him. “I’ll come clean with her today; I don’t think she’d care, though. I really am just cutting you some slack, considering the fact that in a few minutes you’re entering into a war zone and I’m personally taking you to it. Guilt makes you spill the beans, my friend!”

This time it was Steve who chuckled. He did feel way more at ease by the fact that he now knew that at least two of the list of people Tony care's about what they think just approved him, and he was confident enough to think that Jarvis did too if the satisfied smiles he threw his way everytime he physically forced Tony out of the workshop to make him eat something, sleep or both were any indication.

With JARVIS he had never had a problem before and they have actually teamed up against Tony before. So:

One more to go.

“We’re here.” Happy announced while he was pulling over in front of what looked like an extremely exclusive coffee shop. “This is Rhodey’s favorite coffee place.”

“But Pepper told me we were going to meet in a neutral zone.” Steve complained at the disadvantage of not knowing the surroundings when there was a big chance that he would need a speedy retreat.

“This was probably the only agreement Pepper managed to force out of Rhodey.” replied Happy with simpathy in his eyes. “She did mention that he wasn’t exactly…  _thrilled_  by the idea of you two meeting.”

“I noticed,” Steve agreed easily. “But at least he’s willing to talk; that’s something.”

“That’s the spirit! Now go on ahead and if you need anything, just call me,” Happy offered and Steve knew he was sincere. “I have to go and pick up the boss, you see, but you’ve got my number.”

“Thank you, Happy. Really.”

“Anytime, Cap.” And before he could step on the gas, he added; “Sorry about the future harassment you have to endure, but I have my money on you, so good luck!"

Steve felt the smirk taking over his face.

At least he was one hundred percent sure that Dummy, You and Butterfingers  _ **loved**_  him.

* * *

 

Rhodes had sat on a table by the window. He hadn’t waited for Steve to order, since he was already drinking his black coffee as if it was water. It somehow reminded Steve of Tony and not for the first time he questioned himself what those two have exactly lived through together.

“Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes” he politely greeted the moment he was at a decent hearing distance while extending his hand for a shake. He wasn’t surprised when his unwilling host didn’t take it.

“Captain Rogers,” Rhodes said instead while gesturing at the chair opposite to him. “Please take a seat.”

“Thank you for seeing me, Colonel.” Steve tried for the polite approach. “It means a lot.”

“Yeah, about that, I want to know why it means that much to you. You feel good when someone attempts against your ego or something?”

Steve was grateful that he had been preparing himself for this. This time, it was actually pretty easy to ignore him. “It means a lot to Tony, so I thought it was worth at least another try.” He answered honestly deciding to ignore the other’s question.

“So you’re doing this for Tony?”Rhodes asked skeptical.

“Well, it’s surely not because of that big smile and kind words of yours,”Steve replied sarcastically, “I just think that we started with the wrong foot and if we talk this out maybe we can find some common ground where at least we can tolerate each other for Tony’s sake.”

“Captain, let’s get something clear,” the moment those words left Rhodes lips, Steve knew he was due to long series of calming, just-don’t-kill-him breaths. “I really didn’t know Howard Stark; I was introduced to him by Tony once and I spotted him in a couple of events from afar. Let me tell you something, I didn’t need to know him, or hear the guy out, or read about him on the newspapers or anything to hate his guts; I only needed to know how Tony was doing his best to kill himself over impossible tasks while trying to make a father that wouldn’t even bother to give his son the time of the day for something other than complaints and disappointment.

“When he died, I only went to the funeral because Tony was a wreck and he needed a shoulder to cry on. No matter how much he loved his father, I couldn’t stop feeling resentment towards him. Even now that he's dead.” he stated stubbornly. “Long story short, no matter how much Tony is convinced that he’s besotted with you or whatever, nothing’s going to change the way I perceive you, Rogers. And I don’t need to hear you out either. I’m doing this because Pepper asked me to.”

“Colonel, I’m not asking you to change the way you see me,” Steve offered trying to approach Rhodes from yet a different angle. “I know that I can't get everyone to like me and it's not my goal in life. I just want you to, not even to approve of us, but to accept our relationship for Tony’s sake.”

“Don’t you dare to imply that I do anything without thinking of what’s best for him.” Rhodes threatened in a low voice. Steve decided to let him get it out of his system before he tried once more. “I just want to keep Tony safe, mostly from himself; and that includes  _you_ , Captain.”

“And I don’t doubt that, Colonel, not at all,” he conceded. “I don’t know anyone more capable and willing –besides myself and probably Jarvis, of course–, to look out for him.”

At this, Rhodes looked a little startled. For once, Steve noticed he didn’t immediately find the words to throw him off, so he grabbed the opportunity and continued;

“I care about Tony,” he stated with all the honesty that he could muster. This was something that Steve felt was completely necessary to get across the Colonel’s thick skull in order to proceed. “I care about him more than I should considering that I’m the leader of a superhero team whose main job is to keep the world safe and I should care equally for all my people, but I don’t, and that’s something I’ve come to terms with.”

Steve allowed a short silence to let the Air Force soldier assimilate his words.

“Maybe that’s why I’m trying so hard for you to approve us being together,” at Rhodes poorly disguised confused expression, Steve elaborated, “Because I know what it means to care for someone to the point of wanting to shield them even from themselves. It’s even easier to understand you when it’s the same person we’re worrying about.

“See, I tried to put myself in your position and I came to the conclusion that it would drive me  **nuts**  just to  _think_  about giving Tony up to someone I thought wasn’t good enough; even if I knew he would still be there for me no matter what.”

“Are you, Rogers?” Rhodes asked regaining his sharp tone. “Are you good enough?”

Steve thought about it, about all the flaws and even more qualities that his lover possessed compared to his own. He thought about the good Tony did for the people and never gave himself the credit that he deserved. About the way he struggled when Steve carried him forcefully out of the workshop for a well-deserved (and forced) rest. About the way Steve left food near the equipment Tony was currently using because it was the only way that he would subconsciously eat and how adorable he would look when realizing that some of his tools had been replaced for fruit. He thought about the way he tried to make him smile with his sarcastic humor when Steve had had nightmares or he’d been sad over something. He thought about how he would wake up with a tangled Tony all over him because he wanted Steve to wake him up for a morning kiss before he left for a run.

He thought about everything; every smile and tear, whisper and scream, caress and blow.

“No.” he finally answered with sincerity. “I’m not.”

The simplicity of it made Rhodes unable to hide his surprise. When he snapped out of it though, he seemed to have an intense internal battle judging by the way that the hand which wasn’t holding his coffee was clenching and unclenching. The gesture reminded Steve so much of Tony that he  _almost_ couldn’t repress a smile.

“Then,  _why_?” Rhodes finally asked with a scowl. Steve understood right away what he meant.

“Because, Colonel, even if I don’t think I’m good enough yet, I’m not prepared to let Tony go without giving my best to be able to become what he deserves one day. I’m selfish that way.” He stated seriously. “That’s why, even if I owe you so much for taking care of him while I wasn’t here and therefore made possible for me to meet him, I won’t give him up even if you don’t approve of me, of us. I promised Tony that I wouldn’t let go, anyway.” and Steve couldn't help but smile at that memory

At the thick silence that passed between them, Steve stubbornly didn’t leave Rhodes eyes for even one second. He tried to read his expression, but the Colonel didn’t show more than complete seriousness.

Steve wondered if Tony would be upset if they actually got into a physical fight, because Steve could almost  _smell_  the hostility in the air. It’s been a while since he wanted to take a defensive stance outside a battlefield.

Maybe Tony wouldn’t be that pissed if he just dodged?

“Fine!” Rhodes almost yelled while slamming his cup of coffee rather forcefully on the table. Steve was too worried about the sound and the thinking of how was he going to get out of this without turning his lover’s best friend into a bloody pulp, that he was slow to process the simple word coming from the now resigned Colonel. “Fine, Rogers, fine!” he repeated as if to confirm it for Steve’s slow brain.

Steve didn’t know if he was more grateful that this didn’t end with violence, or because the word being repeated again and again in Steve’s head led to the possible scenarios of Tony’s face and actions when he told him later about it. Overall, he was glad that he’d tried to communicate with the stubborn Air Force Colonel once more.

Naturally, Steve beamed, “Thank you, Colonel. You don’t know how much this means t-”

“Hold your horses, Captain.” Rhodes interrupted with the biggest scowl yet. “If what you’re looking for is my approval of you and Tony as an item, then you’re far from it.”

 _‘Couldn’t have been that easy, could it?’_  Steve’s smile faded a bit when as his mind reproached him. Steve then wondered how it would’ve turned out if Howard was still alive and the super soldier was looking for  _his_  approval instead. Just the thought of it made him wince.

“So let’s call this  _Probation_ , shall we?” this time, Rhodes sounded more hesitant. Steve didn’t mind the tone too much, so he lighted up again; that was more than what he thought he would get out of the meeting, anyway. He’d learned to appreciate the small victories. “Now stop wasting my time and go wherever superheroes-that-are-not-Tony go in their free time, Rogers.”

“Thank you, Colonel.” Steve repeated while awkwardly standing up; his smile never faded, though. He offered his hand again, still knowing well that it wouldn’t be shaken back and the Colonel didn’t disappoint as he occupied his right hand to grab his cup of coffee and lead it to his lips instead. “I’d really like it if you’d someday call me Steve.” He threw the comment while already turning his back on the table and started to make his way towards the entrance, just in time to hear the answer.

“Don’t push your luck, Rogers.” Steve turned back to offer a confident smile in response. Rhodes just shook his head as if regretting giving him a chance in the first place. When their eyes met again, the hostility was back on full power. “If you ever break, make unhappy or hurt him in any way, I’d recommend you to stay low for a long while, Captain, ‘cause all the Air Force will be tailing your ass to make sure you don’t show up your face on the surface of the Earth ever again, do you copy?”

Steve knew that this was somewhat an empty threat considering the competent port that this man carried. He wouldn’t use his men for a personal matter, Steve was almost sure of it; if not for the words exchanged, then for Tony’s obvious admiration for his ‘Rhodey’. Even knowing this, Steve couldn’t stop the small shiver that traveled down his back.

Competent, dangerous and alarmingly  _ **powerful**_  were just the top three characteristics that came to the top of Steve’s head to describe Tony’s friends. Not to mention incredibly overprotective.

And Steve had once upon a time wondered who had kept Tony alive before the Avengers.

In conclusion, even Captain America, hero of war, national icon, Boy Scout Magnificent (as Tony would call him), and proud leader of the greatest superhero team in all history could admit:

Tony Stark’s friends were  _ **scary**_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Well, you have to be scary to keep up with Tony's tendency to be troublesome, Steve!
> 
> That's it for now! Thank you for reading this far and I hope you liked it. All kinds of constructive criticism are welcome!
> 
> Thanks again to the amazing beta DreadPirateWombat!


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